August

How does your garden grow?  Ours is full of green tomatoes.

We spent lots of time at the fair.  Sierra LOVED the small animal barn.

Cotton candy was not a hit.  She actually gagged after taking a bite. 

She loved grabbing the ducks but cried when she realized her prize was

 a silly stuffed frog and not the actual ducks that she picked.

Her first fair ride (with my friend Lindsey) 

Blueberries straight from the garden.  What could be better? 

Making a "birthday cake" out of play dough 

Trying on the clean clothes on laundry day 

One of my favorite things ever: black caps!  We picked several handfuls a day

for several weeks.  We were all very sad when the season was over. 

Finally some warm weather = fun times in the pool with daddy 

Is that a naked child in the corn?  Why yes, yes it is. 

We broke ground on the garage this month.  Another building endeavor.  Yay. 

Sierra actually did most of the work. 

Less lawn and more holes.  Yay again. 

A fun day at Otter Beach with Grandma Lee 

She did excellent in the water! 

She gets this attitude from her father:) 

Fall is coming?  No way!  Summer just started! 

I'm a little behind on absolutely everything in life.  My house is not as clean as I'd like (this is not a new phenomenon), my fridge is empty because I haven't gotten groceries in too long, my hair needs cut, I need a shower, everything outside needs watered, and a billion other things.  Why am I so behind?  Yes, because I have a two year old, but also because we are expecting again in February.  Life has become a series of delirious days where I try to stay afloat and keep up with my energetic Sierra May.  The first 5 months of pregnancy for me is like five months of day after day of the worst hangover you've ever experienced.  The problem is, the nausea and vomiting don't go away the next day - they last and last.  And there does not seem to be a time of day that is worse or better - it's literally days of surviving and questioning why in the world I let this happen again.  I love Sierra beyond measure, and she was obviously worth it, but good grief I was hoping to have it easier the second time around.

Speaking of my dear child, she has been a champ.  We found out mid June that I was expecting and I started getting sick before we could even confirm with a pregnancy test.  At first Sierra was confused but very caring.  She was generally fine as long as I'd lay on the floor beside her, wherever she was playing.  She'd ask me "Mommy what's wrong?  You not feel good? Your tummy hurt?  I will rub it for you"  And frequently while I was bent over the sink or toilet she'd call from the next room, "Excuse you mommy, you feel better now?  You ready to play chase?"  Considering I am her only playmate most days, she has handled the transition extremely well.  We haven't explained too much about why mommy is sick, because in Sierra time, February is a lifetime away and we will explain a little more as the due date approaches. 

When deciding on whether or not to have another baby, a huge consideration is your first child.  We have always wanted to have two children (I will admit to being terrified for Sierra's first year of whether or not I would be ready again - and still have my moments of wondering how in the world I will get both fed, clothed, and kept happy) and saw a sibling as a true blessing to our only child.  The funny thing is as soon as I found out I was pregnant, my first reaction was a feeling of guilt.  Will Sierra be okay with this change, will she still grow and flourish when she only has part of my time, will she feel less loved and be angry?  I just had all these overwhelming thoughts that I had NOT expected.  Maybe I'm a little more sensitive to her being that I'm an oldest child myself, but really what it comes down to is I'm a mommy who loves her daughter more than life itself and I constantly worry how things will affect her.  I know in the end that having a sibling will prepare her more for the real world and the fact that life does not revolve around her.  I also realize she will have a constant playmate, and another person in her life that will love her to pieces and mostly like idolize his or her big sister.  I just hope and pray that she feels just as loved and cherished as she does right now.

So aside from the hormonal musings of a pregnant woman, summer finally arrived in Oregon this month!  Thank goodness.  Our garden has been super slow this year but we did get some blueberries and peas.  We had an excellent crop of black caps this year but our raspberries continue to be a lost cause because they are not fenced in and the deer completely demolish them.  After 6 years of living here, and my landscaping and garden being ravaged yearly by the deer, I no longer look at them as cute and innocent bambies.  I look at them as garden terrorists and am all for hunting season!

I still cannot quite believe that I have a big two year old on my hands!  Her language skills continue to improve every day.  We started working on left and right this month.  Living out of town can be really frustrating, but a 30 minute ride to town is full of learning possibilities.  We practice our lefts and rights, talk about the different kinds of trucks/cars there are, count the arrows around corners, sing a song, discuss the fact that red means stop, yellow means slow down, and green means go.  So we practice lots of things on a trip to town, and usually still do A LOT of singing.  The girl loves to sing and instead of singing in a tiny quiet whisper like she used to, she can really get going at times.  I love to listen, but most of the time I am required to sing too.  And if daddy is in the car, he must sing also.  So be prepared if you ever ride anywhere with Sierra, she may demand that you sing with her.  Her favorites right now are Baby Beluga, Baby Moon, and Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me.  Wheels on the Bus continues to rate highly, but I try to sing a different song if at all possible.

For the second year in a row, we managed to stay super healthy during flu season, and then catch 2 summer colds right in a row.  There was no fever involved, but a seriously snotty nose, and some nights of restless sleep for all of us.  Luckily we have a humidifier, and it is a lifesaver.  So anyone expecting or that has a new baby I would highly suggest you run to the nearest drug store and buy one to keep on hand.  It's kind of rough in the summer because it's already warm, and that warm steam can really heat the room up.  But it sure helps tremendously, and usually after the first night or so, she sleeps quite well.  We also discovered how well a couple spoonfuls of honey (only for age 1 and above) can soothe a cough. Our neighbor is a beekeeper and so we are able to get fresh local honey to enjoy. 

I sure love summer and am not ready for fall.  I love the abundance of berries and other local fruit, the warm sunny days, and some really great evenings.  Oregon summer evenings are pretty spectacular.  It's usually just the perfect temperature for being outside.  Sierra and her daddy spend most evenings playing outside, getting quite dirty, and then heading in for a bath.  Daddy is a lifesaver, and tends to take over when he gets home so that I can lay down and feel a little bit sorry for myself.  After her bath we generally watch about 20 minutes of a Disney movie, or her recent favorite, Season 1 of Ducktails.  After that we both go upstairs with her, say a prayer, and put her in her bed.  She usually talks to her trusty stuffed Thomas, or sings for a while, and then she drifts off to dreamland.  I'm terrified to transition her to a big girl bed because I don't want to start having to fight with her about going to sleep.  And, she does some serious acrobatics in her sleep.  I imagine her tumbling out of bed nightly.  She also has NEVER tried to crawl out of her crib.  I've never put her in there for anything but sleep, and generally after she wakes up we go in there pretty quickly to get her.  But even when we've had some issues getting her to go down for a nap, she has never tried to launch herself out.  I may just be making more and more excuses for reasons to keep her in her safe crib.  But generally in her lifetime, I try to make a big step when she shows that she is ready.  And right now, she seems perfectly content to sleep in her crib.  So we will see what happens in the next couple of months - because eventually baby #2 is going to need his or her big sister's crib.

That's all for now.  I have another month to catch up on!